SEASIDE DOT FINALLY… At long last, the city with the seahorse logo has unveiled a new website, featuring pretty pictures, readable fonts and user-friendly tabs. A community events calendar tracks meeting dates and city-sponsored shindigs. Users can’t expect meeting minutes to be posted in a hurry – as of April 24, the most recent Seaside City Council minutes are from March 19 – and meeting videos are not online. But the new www.ci.seaside.ca.us is a huge improvement, and more consistent with Seaside’s marketing as a city on the ups. [KA]

MILLION-DOLLAR PARK… It’s already got priceless views, but the soaring, jagged landscape of Pinnacles National Monument is about to get a little richer – with more than $1 million for construction from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The stimulus money will fund deferred maintenance projects at Pinnacles, including: an overlook and ADA-accessible connector trail to the West Pinnacles visitor station, new retaining walls for utility lines, and 6 miles of fencing to protect sensitive park lands from invasive species, according to a press release from the office of Rep. Sam Farr. [KA]

CONDOR RECOVERS… Biologists with Ventana Wildlife Society re-released Condor 375, the juvenile female that was suffering from lead poisoning and three gunshots, into the Big Sur wild from May 1. Monitoring data indicate she has been doing well since her release. Condor 286, the older male with 15 gunshots, is still being treated at the zoo. He is in critical condition, according to VWS, and it’s uncertain if he’ll ever be able to return to his mate in the wild. Meanwhile, state and private investigators continue to search for the perpetrators of the shootings – and hope the $40,000 reward will entice someone to talk. [KA]

P.G. SUMMITS FOREST HILL… It may be pinching back funds for the museum, library and rec department, but the city of Pacific Grove knows when to invest in lawyers. On April 22, trial court Judge Susan Dauphine ruled in favor of the city on a lawsuit filed by California-Nevada Methodist Homes over the occupancy of eight residential cottages at retirement community Forest Hill Manor. The developer had sued several years ago, when the city didn’t allow permanent occupancy of the cottages because the conditions of approval weren’t fulfilled. The judge denied CVMH’s demand for damages, blaming the developer for not completing the whole project. [KA]